Followers

Thursday, March 14, 2013

After finishing off a very
eventful past year of promotions for their previous album release, Bilateral, acclaimed
Norwegian progsters LEPROUS entered the studio to start recording their next
album after wrapping up their "European Progressive Assault"
headlining tour in September/October 2012.

This new album is entitled Coal, and it will be
released on May 20th in Europe and on May 28th in North America via InsideOut
Music.

LEPROUS singer/synth-player
Einar Solberg comments about the release:

"With our
upcoming album 'Coal,' I feel we are one step closer to a personal
expression. Heidi Solberg Tveitan and Vegard Tveitan of Mnemosyne were the
producers of this album, together with LEPROUS. They helped us a lot with
reaching the full potential of the songs, and the album would not be equally
good without their expertise.

Jens Bogren and Tony
Lindgren @ Fascination Street Studios mixed the material and have made this album
shine like nobody else could.

I see less
interest in defining music than in creating music, but I will give a short
overview on what to expect...

'Coal' is a more
melancholic and darker album than the more playful 'Bilateral'. By darker I
don't mean more aggressive, but more severe. There is still a big range in
the dynamics, but no jumping between different moods within a song. We cannot
wait to show this album to the world!"

Brent Hinds of
MASTODON will make an appearance at Mad Monster Party 2013 on March 22-24 in
Charlotte, North Carolina. Also scheduled to appear are METALLICA guitarist
Kirk Hammett, original KISS drummer Peter Criss and '80s hard rock queen Lita
Ford.

Mad Monster Party is a three-day monster convention with celebrity guests,
horror
memorabilia vendors, monster exhibits (this year features the world's
biggest collection of "Jaws" original screen used props and
memorabilia), the Crypt Critter exhibit with live snakes, arachnids and insects
(with a rare photo op with wrestling superstar Jake "The Snake"
Roberts with a live Burmese python sponsored by Cold Blooded Encounters), a
vintage Midnight Spook Show, macabre magic acts and more!

BLACK COUNTRY
COMMUNION released its third album, "Afterglow", last October amid a
public feud between singer Glenn Hughes and guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

The war of words goes back to early September, when Hughes began telling
journalists that Bonamassa's solo touring schedule was preventing BLACK COUNTRY
COMMUNION from touring and fulfilling its potential. He stated that if the
situation didn't change, "Afterglow" could be the group's last
recording project.

Asked about the current status of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, Bonamassa tells
PremierGuitar.com: "As far as I'm concerned, my involvement is pretty much
done, and I'll
tell you why: Originally, I did it for the same reasons I did the stuff
with Beth Hart and ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY — it was an excuse to play a different
kind of music that I don't get to play normally.

"The
first two records were a blast — the band is fantastic when the Ritalin
kicks in, the ADD goes away, and everyone's focused. It's a
devastatingly good rock band of the early-1970s type, and Glenn is a fantastic
singer — just one of the best ever. So I did it and did a nine-week tour in
2011 that really, by the end of it, wasn't fun for
me. It wasn't because I didn't like the cats in the band, but it was
just too much — too much involved in getting people from place to place
and getting the band onstage. Everybody seemed to be very tense, and it
made my crew very tense, and it's not the way I like to tour. I run a
family — I have 21 people who go on the road with me all the time, and
if you asked them who was the cause of the least of their problems, they would
say me. Unless there was no Diet Coke — then it's a huge
[expletive] problem, and either I'm going to the supermarket or somebody else
is. [laughs]

"But it just wasn't fun for me anymore. All the stuff that Glenn says in
the media, essentially pinning it on me — that I was the reason for the band's
lack of touring and the band's lack of future. It became rapidly not fun at
all. It would be dishonest of me to get onstage and
pretend like I'm having fun to please the band. I'm just not the guitar
player for that band, but, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any
out-of-work guitar players in L.A. that they can get. There are so many
guys that can fill that role and I would be the first guy to queue up
and buy a ticket. So that's my story with it. I'm happily not involved
anymore, but I'm happy with the legacy that I left with that band and
happy with the records we made. It was a great three years for me."

The band's guitarist and main songwriter, Michael Amott, checked
in to comment on the clip:

"We chose this
particular song as the first video off 'Earth Blues' 'cos it's an explosive
track and also the shortest song on the album! I filmed and directed the
video myself and Anders Björler (AT THE GATES) did a great job on the
edit. We're more than pleased with the end result, it's done in
true DIY spirit...raw and authentic."

Earth Blues is
the band's 8th studio release and marks SPIRITUAL BEGGARS' 20th anniversary
as a band. The album will be released on April 15th in Europe and April 16th
in North America via InsideOut Music. For another preview of Earth Blues, please
check out the previously released album track, "Turn the Tide," here. See below for the
track-listing of the album:

Earth Blues
track-listing

1. Wise As A Serpent

2. Turn The Tide

3. Sweet Magic Pain

4. Hello Sorrow

5. One Man's Curse

6. Dreamer

7. Too Old To Die Young

8. Kingmaker

9. Road To Madness

10. Dead End Town

11. Freedom Song

12. Legends Collapse

In order to promote this
upcoming release as well as the band's anniversary, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS have
confirmed a European tour for April with support by German rockers ZODIAC, in
addition to some summer festivals around the world. See below for all
upcoming tour dates: